Spike-puller.



PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

D. OBRIBN. SPIKE FULLER.

`same in line 3 3, Fig. 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL OBRIEN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASS-IGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JUSTUSMOELLER. OF BUFFALO', NEW YORK.

SP'I'KE-PU'LLE R.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented` Aug..22, 1905-.

.To ffl/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, DANIEL OBRIEN, a citi-- zen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Spike-Fullers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to an implement for extracting' spikes, nails,and the like from the Wood or other body into which they'aredriven.

In repairing railways the spikes are withdrawn from the ties to permitof renewing the rails. The means heretofore employed' for withdrawingthese spikes were undesirable, because they bent the spikes andnecessitated straightening them before they could be used again.

The object of this invention is toI produce a simple spike-puller forthis purpose which permits of easily pulling the spikes ina perfectlystraight condition, so as to avoid the expense of straightening thesame.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is afront elevation of myimprovedl spike-puller. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalsection of thesame. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the Fig. t is a fragmentaryrear elevation of the spike-puller'. Fig. 5 is a fragmentarylongitudinal section showing a modified construction of my invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre-V spending partsthroughoutthe several views.`

The supporting foot or frame of the spike jaws D D, formed on the lowerarms of a pairv of gripper-levers E. The latter are crossed centrallylike a pair of pincers or tongs and are pivotally connected by atransverse pin or bolt f, passing horizontally through the overlyingparts of the levers.

G G represent a pair of links, each ofwhichv is pivotally connected atits lower end by' a pin g with the upper bifurcated arm of one of saidgripper-levers. The upper ends-of bothlinks are pivoted by a single pin/t to thelower bifurcated end of a swivel or clevis H. The latter ispivoted by a pin e' to the-short front arm I of a hand-lever, which ispivotally supported on the upper end of the standard, so as to turn in avertical plane. Upon raising the long rear arm I/ of the hand-lever whenthe parts are assembled, as shown i-nFi-g. 2*,'its front armf and theparts connected therewith are depressed, and at the Sametime thelin-ksGGr turnthe gripper-levers inl thedireetion for spreading oropeni'ngtheir jaws. While in this The preferredi mean-s fo rthlus'fguidingtl'1'e"g`ripv per-levers 1s shown 1n the drawmgsandiscorr structed1 asfollows:v J' representsa gui'd'eebloek which moves vertically in anupright slot c in,` thecentrall part of the standard and whichyhasfil'at faces jj on horizontally-opposite sides for engaging witlrtheA sides oftheslot, asshownin Fig.` 8,- a-nd preventing. theguideblock from turning. Thegripperelev'ers are connectedy with theguide-block by extending the pivot-bolt f rearwardly'througha hori-Zontal:openingintheI block andconning these levers loosely against thefront side of the block by screwenutsf, applied to the rear end of thebolt andl bearing.' against the rear side ofthel block', as shown inyFigrB.` The guid'e-bloek-is eonnedagainst endwise-move-- mentin thesl'ot'of the standard by a head Z, ixedvon" the front end thereof andbearing against the standard on opposite sides of its slot, and' aWasher'l, arranged loosely on the rear end of thebl'ocki and interposedbetween the rearside of the-standard and the'front'side oftheiscrew-nuts f.: As the gripper-llevers rise with the s-pike the.guide compels the' same tov-'move vertically/andavoidsth'eobjeetionafble' bending of the spike. Ify desired',- the spikemay be drawnv out part way by oney pull of the lever, after whichone ormore new holds ma-y be' taken on theispike'for com-plet-v ing drawing'ofthe same by a pumping action. In order to; permit of drawing the spikein this manner; the jaws of they gripperslevers are extended forward-ly,as shown in Fig. 2', topermit the spike to: pass upwardly alongthe-front sideof the levers and-clearthesame.'y

For'the purpose of enabling the' spi-ke tobewithd-rawn with azsingleStroke of the handlever means are provided for shifting the le- I verupward bodily and increasing thel amplitude of its effective movement asthe pulling of the spike progresses. The preferred means for thispurpose (shown in Figs. 1, 2, and, 3) consist of a horizontal pivot-pinm, passing through the hand-lever, and vertical slots m' in lugs or earsM, arranged on the upper end of the standard on opposite sides of thehandlever, and a cam n, arranged on the under side o f` the hand-leveradjacent to the pivotpin m and adapted to bear against a shelf orabutment N on the upper part of the standard between said ears. Duringthe first part of the downward movement of the hand-lever for closingthe gripper-jaws on the spike and starting the extraction of the spikethe pivot-4 pin rests in the lower ends of the slots m', as shown inFig. 2. After the first part of the lifting movement of the spike hasbeen thus effected the cam a during the continued forward or extractingmovement of the lever bears against the shelf N and causes the lever tobe raised bodily, thereby increasing the lifting effect of the same andpermitting of drawing au ordinary spike with one operation. During thebodily upward movement of the hand-leverits' pivot-pin rises in theslots of the ears M.

.Instead of arranging the pivot-pin on the hand-lever and the slots' forguiding the same on the standard, as shown in Fig. 2, this constructionmay be reversed, as shown in Fig. 5, in which the pivot-pin m2 is fixedin lugs M on the standard and passes through a slot m3 in the lever,thereby obtaining the same result as in the first-mentionedconstruction.

For the purpose of enabling the operator to obtain a more favorableleverage and also to permit of operating the hand-lever moreconveniently in a standing position the rear arm or handle of thehand-lever is so arranged that its general direction is 4at an obliquevangle to a line drawn through the pivot of this lever and its pivotalconnection with the gripper-operating devices. This construction of thehand-lever also permits of reversing the same, so that a spike can bepulled either by a downward or an upward movement of its rear arm orhandle. When the hand-lever-is ful'crumed between its arms on thestandard and pivotally connected at the end of its short arm with thegripper devices, as shown in full Y.

lines in Fig. 2, the spike is pulled by a downward movement of itshandle; but when the hand-lever is pivoted on the standard at the I endof its short arm and pivotally connected between its arms with thegripper devices, as

shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the pulling of the spike is effected byan upward movement of the handle. By this means the spike can be pulledfrom either side of the standard as may be most convenient or ascircumstances may require. When the hand-lever is operated with alifting movement of its handle, the advantage of moving the lever upwardbodily is not obtained, as the cam n and shelf N do not cooperate inthis changed position of the parts.

When spikes are rusted in the wood, they stick much faster than whennewly driven, and therefore require more power for extracting them. Inorder to permit of exerting a greater pulling effect on spikes of thischaracter, the spike-puller is provided with an attachment whereby thepower of the same may be increased When necessary. The means for thispurpose shown in the drawings are conv structed as follows: O representsa starting.- lever pivoted between its arms to the lower part of thestandard by a transverse pin 0 and engaging its front arm with theguideblock, preferably with the under side of its front head, as shownin Fig. 2. P represents an upright link which connects the rear arm orhandle of the hand-lever with the rear arm of the starting-lever. handleor long arm of the hand-lever the front arm of the starting-lever risesand engages with the guide-block and lifts the latter, together with thegripper-jaws and spike grasped thereby, at the same time thatthese partsare being lifted by the hand-lever. The rear arm of the'starting-lever Ois longer than the distance from the pivot m to the pivot p on the mainlever. It follows from this that when the starting-lever is in use thesame will exert a more powerful lifting effect on the gripper-leversthan by using the main lever alone. The differential of motion betweenthe main and starting levers during the initial part of the pullingmovement is compensated for by the pin-and-slot connection between themain lever and the standard, whereby the main lever is enabled to holdthe grippers in a closedposition while the startinglever is effective.By this means the starting movement of the spike is effected by thecombined action of the hand-lever and starting-lever and the finalextracting movement thereof is effected solely by the handlever.

For the purpose of enabling the tool to be used without the auxiliarylifting attachment when pulling easy spikes or when using the tool withthe hand -lever in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. Q meansareprovided for disconnecting the attachment from the tool. This iseffected by making the pivot-pin 0 of the starting-lever removable fromthe standard and detachably connecting the upper end of the link P withthe handle of the hand-lever by engaging a crossbar pon the bifurcatedupper end of this link with a socket, notch` or shoulder q in the underside of the handle and confining this bar in said notch by aspring-keeper fr,

which is securedY to the handle and extends over the mouth of saidnotch.

My improved implement pulls spikes hav- Upon depressing the ing heads orno heads with equal facility, thus rendering the same especiallydesirable for railroad Work,in Which the spike-heads are frequentlybroken off, so that the same can be removed only with great difiicultyor must be abandoned.

I claim as my invention- 1. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a pairof crossed gripper-levers, a guide-block movable on said standard,asingle pin or bolt pivotally connecting said gripper-levers With eachother and with said guide-block, and a handle -lever pivotally supportedon said standard and operatively connected with said gripper-levers,substantially as set forth.

2. A spike-puller comprising a standard having a vertical slot, a pairof crossed gripper-levers, a guide-block movable vertically in said slotand having a head at one end and a Washer at the other end which bearagainst, opposite sides of the standard, a pin or bolt pivotallyconnecting said gripper-levers with' each other and with saidguide-block, and a hand-lever pivotally supported on said standard andoperatively connected with said gripper-levers, substantially as setforth.

3. A spike-puller comprising a standard having a vertical slot, aguide-block movable vertically and having fiat faces on its oppositesides which engage With the .opposite sides of said slot, a pair ofcross gripper-levers pivotally connected with said block, and ahand-lever pivotally supported on said standard and operativelyconnected with said gripper-levers, substantially as set forth.

4. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a guide-block movablevertically on said standard, a pair of crossed gripper-levers, a pinpivotally connecting said levers With each other and also with saidguide-block, links connected With the upperarms of said levers, and ahand -lever pivoted on said standard and having one of its armspivotally connected with said links While its other arm is arranged atan angle to a line drawn through the pivots connecting the hand-leverwith the standard and said links, substantially as set forth.

5. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a pair of gripper-levers, aguide-block sliding vertically on said standard, a pin pivotallyconnecting said gripper-levers with said block, a hand-lever operativelyconnected With said gripper-levers,means for loosely pivoting saidconnecting said gripper-levers with said block,

ahand-lever operatively connected with said gripper-levers, a pivot-pinarranged on the hand-lever, a pair of lugs arranged at the upper end ofthe standard and provided With vertical slots which receive saidpivot-pin, and a cam formed on the under side of said lever and adaptedto engage With an abutment or shelf on the upper end of the standard,substantially as set forth.

7. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a pair of gripper-levers, ahand-lever pivotally supported on the standard and operatively connectedwith the gripper-levers, and an auxiliary start-ing device operativelyconnected with said gripper-levers and said hand-lever, substantially asset forth.

8. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a guide-block movable on saidstandard, a pair of gripper levers pivoted on said block, a hand-leverpivotally supported on said standard and operatively connected with saidgripper-levers, a starting-lever pivoted on the standard and engagingits front arm With said block, and a link connecting the rear arm ofsaid starting-lever with the hand-lever, the length of the rear arm ofsaid starting-lever being greater than the distance from the pivot ofsaid hand-lever to its connection with said link, substantially as setforth.

9. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a guide-block movable on saidstandard, a pair of gripper-levers pivoted on said block, a hand-leverpivotally supported on said standard and operatively connected with saidgripper-levers, a starting-lever pivoted on the standard and engagingits front arm with said block, and a link connected at one end with therear arm of the starting-lever and detachably connected at its oppositeend with said hand-lever, the length of the rear arm of saidstarting-lever being greater than the distance from the pivot of saidhand-lever to its connection With said link, substantially as set forth.l0. A spike-puller comprising a standard, a guide-block movable on saidstandard, a pair of gripper -levers pivoted on said block, a hand-leverpivotally supported on said standard and operatively connected with saidgripper-levers, a starting-lever pivoted on the standard and engagingits front arm With said block, a link connected at its lower end withthe rear arm of the starting-lever and provided at its upper end with across-bar which engages With a notch in theunder side of the hand-lever,and a spring-keeper secured to the hand-lever across the mouth of saidnotch for releasably confining said cross-bar therein, the length of therear arm of said startinglever being greater than the distance from thepivot of said hand-lever to its connection with said link, substantiallyas set forth.

Witness my hand this 28th day of February, 1905.

DANIEL oBRrEN.

Witnesses:y

JUsTUs MOELLER, THEO. L. Por?.

